Manchester United – Interest In Arturo Vidal Held Up By Fitness Concerns

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According to Jorge Sampaoli, Chilean manager, Arturo Vidal’s move to Manchester United has been held up by Louis van Gaal’s concern about his fitness.

After months of speculation and rumours, the longest running soap opera of this transfer window is yet to reach a conclusion. Chilean coach Jorge Sampaoli suggest that Vidal’s £47m transfer from Juventus to Manchester United has been held up by Louis van Gaal’s concerns over the midfielder’s fitness.

Vidal joined the Italian club from Bayer Leverkusen in 2011 and has since then been a regular in Antonio Conte’s side. The 27-year-old has established himself as arguably the best midfielder in the world currently and has already won three Serie A titles with the Italian club.

Vidal finished last season with 11 goals and five assists in 28 starts in the league and his consistent performances has drawn a lot of attention from a host of European clubs. Real Madrid and PSG were initially linked with a move for him, but Manchester United are the current frontrunners in the race for his signature. Juventus are however keen to hold on to their prized asset and only an over the top bid will lure them into selling the Chilean international.

Arturo Vidal’s future at Juventus has come under a lot of speculations with the Chilean international being linked with a move to Old Trafford. But there have been contradicting reports in Italian media, some of which suggest that Manchester United decided against pursuing their interest as they are unwilling to meet Juventus’ valuation, while other insists that the Red Devils have stepped up their effort to land him. The midfielder meanwhile remains calm about his future and recently stated that he will be happy to extend his stay in Italy if the move to Manchester United fails to materialize.

Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta has recently insisted that the player is not in the market and that he will be sold only when he personally asks for Manchester United. But according to Chile’s World Cup manager Jorge Sampaoli, the deal is being held up only due to van Gaal’s concern about Vidal’s fitness, who underwent a knee surgery ahead of the World Cup.